1959 memo lists government regulations for Yeti hunting. Really.

If you're planning to hit the Himalayas in search of an Abominable Snowman, you better be ready to do things by the book.

At least, that'd be the case if you were conducting your search in 1959. These days, if you head out in search of a Yeti, you'll probably get a lot of giggles and funny looks, but back in 1959, the American Embassy in Kathmandu was taking such expeditions seriously. In a memo issued on Nov. 30 of that year, the embassy listed three specific regulations for Yeti searches in the region, in addition to the 15 regulations already on the books for "Mountaineering and Scientific Expeditions in Nepal." The three regulations, which seem to be laid out with the utmost seriousness, are as follows.

1. Royalty of Rs. 5000/- Indian Currency will have to be paid to His Majesty's Government of Nepal for a permit to carry out an expedition in search of 'Yeti'.

2. In case 'Yeti' is traced it can be photographed or caught alive but it must not be killed or shot at except in an emergency arising out of self defence. All photographs taken of the animal, the creature itself if captured alive or dead, must be surrended to the Government of Nepal at the earliest time.

3. News and reports throwing light on the actual existence of the creature must be submitted to the Government of Nepal as soon as they are available and must not in any way be given out to the Press or Reporters for publicity without the permission of the Government of Nepal.

So basically, if the Yeti is out there, it belongs to Nepal, and any cryptozoologist who happens to stumble upon it has to give Nepal its due. Note that all instances of the word Yeti are framed by quotes, which suggests the U.S. government isn't exactly expecting these regulations to ever be used, but the 1950s were filled with tales of people either claiming to have seen or searching in earnest for a Yeti, so someone at the embassy decided a little bureaucracy was in order, just in case any of those people turned out to be right.